Protective coating composition for hams



Patented June 26, 1951 PROTECTIVE COATING COMPOSITION FOR HAMS Ralph T.K. Cornwell, Rosemont, Pa., assignor to American Viscose Corporation,Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. ApplicationDecember 7, 1948, Serial No. 64,048

4 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of preserving meat, fruit and otheranimal or vegetable products which are subject to bacterial and moldattack.

It has been proposed previously to coat various articles of food withgelatine in order to preserve them against deterioration on exposure tothe air. Gelatine is edible and the skin may be left on articles of foodwhen they are eaten. However, gelatine is not satisfactory as a coatingfor meat or the like when it is desired to incorporate in the coatingextraneous agents, for example, agents having bactericidal properties.Some of these agents may be harmless to the health of human beings, butthey invariably possess a disagreeable, bitter taste, and, when they arepresent, the protective coating must be removed before the foodstuff iseaten. The disadvantage of gelatine as a coating material under suchconditions is that the adhesive properties of gelatine are morepronounced than the cohesive properties thereof, and, therefore, when itis attempted to remove the gelatine coating by pulling, it tears veryreadily and has to be more or less picked off piece by piece. Moreover,gelatine coatings are relatively soft and do not offer good resistanceto abrasion such as the coated articles are subjected to duringpackaging and transportation.

According to the present invention, these disadvantages are avoided andmeat, fruit and like products, for example oranges, hams, etc., areprovided with a firm, tough, abrasion-resistant protective coating whichis resistant to bacterial and mold attack, and is readily strippablefrom the ham when the latter is to be prepared for consumption. Inaccordance with the invention, all parts of the surface of a ham or thelike are provided with a continuous, readily strippable air-tight toughfilm comprising a film-forming water-soluble cellulose ether and awatermiscible salt, which may be water-soluble or water-dispersible, andcharacterized by antibacterial and anti-mold properties, for instance,

sodium acid sulfite, sodium propionate, propyl gallate, dialkyl benzylammonium chloride, such as diethyl or dimethyl benzylammonium chloride,etc. by dipping the article of food into a homogeneous aqueous mediumcontaining the ether and salt, allowing the excess to drain off, anddrying the coated article.

In the preferred embodiment, the cellulose ether is hydroxyethylcellulose, but other watersOluble cellulose ethers, such as methylcellulose,

2 ethyl cellulose, and water-soluble cellulose ethers of glycollic acidor glycollic acid salts, such as the ammonium, sodium and potassiumsalts, may be used.

One of the advantages of the invention lies in the fact that theprotective film is resistant to abrasion and remains firmly fixed to thesurface of the ham during storage and transportation and under allconditions where it is not exposed to the direct action of water, buthas cohesive properties greater than its adhesive properties so that itdoes not tear easily when subjected to a pulling force and can bereadily stripped from the article at will. The tough, continuous filmcan be peeled off very readily in the form of long strips which do nottend to break into fragments, leaving the surface of the article free ofadherent particles of the coating. It may be washed off.

The ham or other article can be sterilized before or after applying theprotective coating, when such sterilization is desirable or practicable.

The coating composition is made by stirring the water-soluble celluloseether and watersoluble or dispersible salt into sufiicient water to makea homogeneous composition of the desired consistency. The coatingcomposition may be applied in any way, but when the article to be coatedis a ham or other article having an irregular contour, the coating ispreferably applied by dipping the article in the aqueous coating mediumand allowing the solution to drain off. The article may be dipped intothe coating composition as often as needed to provide a coating of therequired thickness. The concentration of water-soluble cellulose etherin the aqueous coating composition may vary but is generally in therange of from 2 to 10% by weight, based on the total weight of thecomposition.

It will be obvious that any water soluble or water dispersiblebactericidal agent may be incorporated with the cellulose ether to formthe coating composition, the specific salts mentioned herein being citedas illustrative only. The proportion of the bactericidal agent in thecoating composition will vary with the particular agent used, but isgenerally from 1 to 3%.

I claim:

1. A film-forming composition for use as a protective coating for hamsand other articles of food comprising an aqueous solution ofhydroxyethyl cellulose and 1 to 3% of sodium acid sulfite.

2. A film-forming composition tor use as a protective coating for hamsand other articles 01 food comprising a homogeneous aqueous mediumcontaining a water-soluble cellulose ether and 1 to 3% of sodium acidsulflte.

3. A film-forming composition for use as a protective coating Ior hamsand other articles of food comprising a homogeneous aqueous mediumcontaining 2 to 10% of a water-soluble cellulose ether and 1 to 3% 01sodium acid sulflte.

4. A film-forming composition tor use as a protective coating for hamsand other articles of food comprising an aqueous solution of 2 to 10%hydroxyethyl cellulose and 1 to 3% sodium acid sulflte.

RALPH T. K. CORNWELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

\ UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 971,799 Stevenson Oct. 4, 19102,340,072 Med] Jan. 25, 1944 2,352,611 Bowers July 4, 1944 10 2,362,761Medi Nov. 14, 1944 2,429,404 Dixon Oct. 21, 1947 OTHER REFERENCES"Research Medical Progress Report No. 4,"

15 page 1, Committee on Medical Research of the Oflice of ScientificResearch and Development, February 4, 1944, OE Ncmr 334.

2. A FILM-FORMING COMPOSITION FOR USE AS A PROTECTIVE COATING FOR HAMSAND OTHER ARTICLES OF FOOD COMPRISISNG A HOMOGENEOUS AQUEOUS MEDIUMCONTAINING A WATER-SOLUBLE CELLULOSE ETHER AND 1 TO 3% OF SODIUM ACIDSULFITE.